Realms
The Realms of the Boundless Universe are the various domains in which Races live and operate. Some are termed "Divine Realms" because of their allegiance to a particular Divinity, but others stand as independent. The complete list of inhabited Realms are: Aurivald, Ilyria, Thalderyn, Elda, and the Mortal Realms. Technically, The Void can also be considered an inhabited realm, though it is distinct from the others in a number of ways. Nature The precise nature of the different Realms is difficult to neatly convey. Divine Scholars have spent tens of thousands of years trying to construct a complete picture of how the Realms were formed, and what their exact properties are. Sadly, they have yet to succeed. There are a few things that are known, however. First, all of the Realms within the Cosmos are physical. That is, they are constructed of physical material, and can be thought of like large continents. In addition, the Realms (with the exception of the Void) all tend to follow the same general laws of the Universe: they each have gravity, a cycle of day and night, and variations in weather. It would be a mistake, however, to say that the Realms are akin to the planets that populate the Mortal Realms. To begin with, Elda and the three Divine Realms (collectively termed the "Higher" Realms) are not globes, and The Void, by its very nature, does not have a consistent shape. Instead, it has been theorized that the Higher Realms are akin to imperfectly shaped domes, with the land, mountains, and sea comprising the flatter part. The Higher Realms are also not accessible to Mortals. Though the Realms all exist within the same dimension, the Higher Realms exist on a different arcane "plane." So, a one could not merely hop into a spaceship and eventually arrive at one of the Higher Realms. To access the Higher Realms requires a strong connection to the Divine Forces or Universal Forces, which Mortals are incapable of forming. Travel Between Realms The Higher Realms are not physically connected to one another, and so in order to move between them, one must use a Portal. Portals can be personally constructed by those skilled in Quen, or created at a fixed point. The latter is known as a Waypoint, and are often used to traverse large spans within a Realm, as well as between different Realms. Waypoints are particularly valuable as a means of travel, as they produce very stable portals that can be expanded in size and longevity, allowing for the transportation of caravans and even armies. As they developed, the Divine Realms became concerned about Portals. While Waypoints could be restricted, guarded, or even destroyed in some rare cases, the same could not be said for personal Portals. In response, it became commonplace for the Realms to create a series of barriers that automatically filtered personal Portals to designated Waypoints, as a means of controlling who can enter the Realm. Some, however, are still able to construct Portals that circumvent such barriers, which is considered a particularly rare and dangerous Quen skill. As mentioned before, Mortals cannot form personal Portals due to their lack of connection to the Divine or Universal Forces. They can, however, utilize Waypoints, provided the portal is already opened (to use a waypoint also requires Quen, even if the amount required is far less than the amount required to construct a personal Portal). History Category:Locations